Prague is rad. The currency rate of the Czech koruna actually worked in my favor for once, so food and drinks were pretty cheap. It’s such a beautiful city with all these old towers and great scenic views. Even though it is pretty touristy, there’s space to get away from everyone when you need to. After exploring the castle on Tuesday (I want to live in a castle!), I took a long stroll to Letna Beer Garden which is tucked away high above the city. Getting there was a bit of a trek (especially when you’re like me and too stubborn to take public transportation), but it was worth it to relax in a chill spot overlooking all of Prague. Finding sanctuary from the crowds was wonderful, and the city won me over. Besides, it’s hard not to like Prague.

Yesterday was a fantastic day. I went in search of the Lennon Wall which is close to Charles Bridge. When John Lennon died, the people painted a huge picture of him on a wall. The communists didn’t like that and painted over the wall, but the people keep on painting on it. Apparently, this kept happening and now the wall is constantly changing. It was pretty inspirational to see because the messages on the wall are all about love, peace and other positive quotes both relating and not relating to the Beatles. I stood there for a while listening to my iPod and taking it all in, all these different people from different places but here with the same message. It just put me in a great mood. I’ve been blessed with good weather in Prague too, and after that I spent some time on the bridge enjoying the breeze and the people watching with a huge smile on my face.

Prague Castle and Charles Bridge at night

Imagine! Lennon Wall

Last night my roommate and I went out to a pretty nice club which played some fun house music and we danced for a few hours. I slept at 5am, and honestly I’m pretty amazed I even made my train this morning! I’ve met some cool kids from Brazil out here: two friends from Sao Paulo who I went out with on Mon night (also went out with three other guys, Brazilian and Canadian) and a guy traveling solo from Rio. They were all roommates with me, and it’s definitely been the best way to meet people when traveling alone. I’ve been lucky because the guys I’ve met here, as well as in other cities, have really watched out for me. Who says chivalry is dead! I’ve never had to worry when going out, and its been fun making new friends from all over. I hope they hit me up if they’re ever in New York, or maybe I’ll just have to visit them first!

Oh, and for those of you that don’t know, I have about a week of unplanned vacation here and hadn’t decide where to go until about 24 hrs ago. And here I am now, in Poland heading to beautiful Kraków! When I first thought of coming here, it made me nervous because I don’t know anything about the country or the culture. But then I realized that it was because of that nervousness that I just had to go. That and it’s really, really cheap, yay! So I bought a train ticket (Poland, unfortunately, isn’t valid on my Eurail pass) and am hanging out until Sun, when I will grab a flight to Italy and most likely spend a few days in south of France or northern Italy — also unplanned! I’m getting sad because it means that this journey is coming closer to it’s end, but I still have a few more adventures ahead. Wish me luck in Poland, land of the Rockys! (inside joke)